a warm
welcome
throw a summer housewarming party
by Dana Currier |12
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Many people associate
housewarming parties with gifts, which is silly I think, but if you
convey to your guests the relaxed theme of the event, they probably
won't feel the need to bring anything more than a bottle of wine or a
six-pack of beer. Still, if you are invited to a housewarming party and
you want to bring something more creative, I have two suggestions. The
first is laundry detergent. It may seem ridiculous, but when someone
gave us a bottle wrapped up in a leopard-print bow at our party last
summer, I was so grateful. I hadn't even thought to buy any yet and the
hamper was full to bursting at the time. Detergent is something you
don't think to buy when you're moving, and it's one of those essential
things you don't realize you've forgotten until you've run through every
last pair of socks and underwear.

The second gift suggestion is
perhaps a step up on the price ladder but still hardly qualifies as a
major expense. Often people who have just moved have had to sacrifice
some of those personal possessions that are fun to have around but were
deemed unworthy of precious moving van real estate. Board
games often fall into this category. The ones you have around
the house at the time you move tend to take up tons of space but are
often missing pieces and have parts that are bent and broken, so they
wind up in the trash. Once you move into your new place, you're ready to
start a new board game collection -- which makes the latest edition of
Cranium or Trivial Pursuit an excellent gift for a housewarming party.
Plus, if the party turns out to be really lame, the host can always bust
open the box and declare it time to christen the apartment with a round
of America's favorite trivia game.

Attending
housewarming parties is fun, but the best thing about throwing one for
yourself is that you get to show off your fabulously appointed new digs
to your friends and (new) neighbors. After those long days of packing
and unpacking, regain your sanity by keeping things at your party
low-key but fun and festive. Try to relax and enjoy the results of your
long, sweaty hours of labor. Your guests are guaranteed to have a good
time and to help you warm your new place right up.

o

Dana
Currier is
a grad student studying French literature in Chicago. She may have no
promising career prospects but in the meantime she does get to spend her
days reading, writing and planning her next party.